As Luther Classical College prepares to welcome its first cohort of students this August, it already has its first student organization: LCC4Life. Along with a team at Purdue University, LCC4Life is the newest Life Team with Y4Life, the high-school and college arm of Lutherans for Life. This past March, Y4Life flew two of Luther Classical College’s incoming students to Phoenix, Arizona, for leadership training.

Prior to enrolling at LCC, Simon Ristau and Grace MacPherson both gained experience advancing the pro-life movement. Simon spent a gap year working as an assistant in Ottawa for a pro-life Canadian MP, while Grace was involved in the pro-life student organization at her previous college. She published several pieces with Lutherans for Life. “With these kind of credentials,” said Dr. Caleb Karges, dean of students, “Simon and Grace were the obvious choices to helm our chapter of Y4Life in LCC’s inaugural year.” Dr. Karges then recommended them as LCC’s representatives to Mrs. Michelle Bauman, director of Y4Life. She noted that Simon and Grace made the “perfect combo” when it came to a Y4Life leadership team.

Simon and Grace flew from Casper to Phoenix for Y4Life’s annual weekend-long leadership retreat at a short-term rental. The event brought together students from already existing teams at the Concordias and the two new teams. Together, the students received training from Mrs. Bauman, shared meals, and enjoyed some sightseeing in Phoenix. They particularly enjoyed the botanical gardens, and the team-prepared meals were in Simon’s words “above and beyond.”

One part of the training involved learning what it meant to be pro-life. Simon later recounted, “One foundational idea that was at the heart of this leadership retreat is that being pro-life is so much more than just being anti-abortion. Being pro-life is about defending and upholding all life at all stages, for all people.” As Mrs. Bauman noted, the pro-life message is inherent in the Gospel. “The Bible is full of examples of how God values and loves life; He consistently preserves, protects, and provides for His people. In the ultimate act of love, God sent His Son to die for ALL HUMAN LIFE.”

After emphasizing the Lutheran basis for upholding life, the training also covered the basic logistics of running a Y4Life team, which included how Mrs. Bauman and her team could support team leaders on the ground at their respective campuses through mentorship, grants, materials, and speakers. However, the training did not exclusively focus on the relationship between the teams and Y4Life’s headquarters in Iowa. The students also learned how to support each other, as part of the training was to connect them. Mrs. Bauman noted, “This group of students hit it off so well that I did not even use half of the ice breakers I had planned.” Simon and Grace made new friends and learned how they could be supportive of their fellow Lutherans working to uphold life around the country. A few of their peers related stories of antagonistic actions taken against pro-lifers by students, professors, and administrators at other institutions. The students exchanged phone numbers, made a chat group, and now share their ups and downs, encouraging and praying for one another.

Simon and Grace returned to Casper uplifted and encouraged after meeting so many laborers for Christ in Phoenix. They met with Dr. Karges at Casper’s Blue Ridge Coffee to debrief on their training and plan for the coming academic year. They noted that Mrs. Bauman is a great mentor and were delighted to have the opportunity to work with her. They also held great optimism at what could be accomplished at LCC, since students, faculty, and administrators would be unified in doctrine and practice.

Simon and Grace also recognized that LCC’s location provides LCC4Life great opportunities to be Gospel-motivated voices for Life. The Wyoming District of the LCMS has been on the forefront of the pro-life movement, most recently passing a resolution concerning in vitro fertilization in its 2025 convention.¹ The state of Wyoming recently passed a law that would effectively shut down the state’s only abortion clinic, although the legislation is currently held up in the courts. LCC4Life does not need to reinvent the wheel, as Natrona County and Wyoming already provide robust pro-life organizations that LCC’s students can connect with and support such as TrueCare and Wyoming Right to Life. Grace noted, “I’ve already met so many incoming students, and I’m eager to work together with them to support the sanctity of life from fertilization to natural death. I can’t wait to see how Luther Classical College will prepare students to carry on that work in their various vocations after college.”

1. The convention proceedings will be available on the district website after June 14, 2025.